I’m Allergic to Pheromones - Chapter 20
The bright spring sunshine of March filtered through the rustling leaves, swaying gently in the breeze. Dappled light passed through varying shades of green, casting patterns beneath the eaves as a few small gray birds fluttered their wings, clumsily taking flight.
Bai Cha sat on the steps, watching the gray figures rise and fall repeatedly, unable to resist mocking them: “Fat little birds too chubby to fly properly!”
Before long, a bouncing figure came running over. Tang Ou plopped down beside her, cheeks cupped in her hands, and asked cheerfully, “Bai Cha, Bai Cha, do I look pretty today?”
Bai Cha tossed aside the small stick she was fiddling with and turned to look at her.
The girl was young—fifteen years old—and her features were gradually maturing. Though naturally delicate and reserved, her round face still resembled a plump little bun, topped with two small buns of hair tied up on her head, giving off an air of “I’m so adorable, come tease me!”
Bai Cha: “…”
Truthfully, she couldn’t quite understand how her friend had managed to keep her face so round and plump in the harsh environment of the orphanage.
The birds flapped their wings noisily before tumbling from the branches onto the grass. Bai Cha’s eye twitched, and with an almost spiritual insight, she concluded, “You’re way cuter than those fat little birds.”
Tang Ou blinked in confusion: ???
She didn’t quite grasp what “fat little birds” meant, but she understood that Bai Cha had just declared her the cutest in the world. Beaming, she nodded, cheeks still squished in her hands. “I think so too!”
The afternoon wasn’t stiflingly hot. The wind brushed past the bamboo wind chimes hanging under the eaves, producing a light, cheerful sound. Spring and summer days always felt especially long and unhurried.
They weren’t the only ones skipping nap time. When Tang Ou had run downstairs, the dormitories above had been buzzing with chatter—everyone was trying on new clothes.
Early that morning, someone had sent fifty boxes of clothes to the orphanage, complete with outfits for spring and summer, shoes, and everything in between. The nun who had opened the door had been so shocked she froze in place.
The pink hair clip on Tang Ou’s head was part of the haul. She reached up to touch it, rubbing the small white bead at the end with particular fondness.
“Bai Cha, aren’t you happy? It’s the first time someone’s donated brand-new clothes to us. Before, we only ever got hand-me-downs.”
Bai Cha, who had been spacing out watching the silly birds, snapped back to attention. Meeting her friend’s slightly worried gaze, she shook her head. “No, I was just wondering who sent them.”
Having grown up in the orphanage for twelve years, she had never seen anyone donate brand-new clothes before—let alone a complete set from head to toe, with every size accounted for, as if afraid of leaving even one child out.
Thanks to this kind stranger, Bai Cha had received two well-fitting outfits for the first time, though the thought left her feeling oddly unsettled.
“Do you know who sent them?”
Tang Ou shook her head.
“No. The nuns said the boxes didn’t have any sender information, and the delivery person wouldn’t say who it was. But the packing list had a handwritten name on it.”
“What was it?”
“‘Long-Legged Little Tangerine.’” Tang Ou’s expression turned strange as she said it, then pinched her own cheek curiously. “Probably didn’t want to reveal their identity. Must be a really rich young lady. ‘Little Tangerine’ sounds like a girl’s name, right?”
A young lady, huh?
A face blessed by the heavens with extreme favor—gorgeous and radiant—suddenly flashed through Bai Cha’s mind. She instinctively shook her head, finding it absurd: She wouldn’t know I’m here, and this signature is too childish to be hers.
Out of insecurity, Bai Cha had taken the initiative to make a promise with Nan Ju to meet again next year. Though she regretted it afterward, she believed the other party would honor the agreement and wait for her.
Once she turned eighteen next year, she could leave the orphanage. Then she’d personally seek out that woman, bringing along the most beautiful spray of crabapple blossoms to treat that stunning lady to a meal.
“Probably just some bored rich person,” Bai Cha said indifferently. “The adoptive parents are arriving at seven, right? Did you confirm with Matron?”
Tang Ou nodded vigorously, her tone cheerful.
“Confirmed! I still want to wait for that Beta, and Matron agreed. But she told me to join everyone later.”
The little girl frowned slightly in confusion. “But I said I don’t want to be adopted yet. Why is Matron still making me go?”
This time, there were unusually many adoptive parents visiting. The more children present, the higher the chances of someone being chosen. Though the orphanage would care for them until adulthood at eighteen, being adopted sooner was always better. Who knows? Tang Ou might get lucky and catch the eye of one of today’s visitors.
Bai Cha understood Matron’s intentions perfectly but didn’t expose them. She simply said, “Too few attendees might seem disrespectful. Besides, don’t you like lively gatherings?”
“That’s true.” Tang Ou agreed naively before hesitantly glancing at Bai Cha. “Bai Cha, I saw Lin Wangyang in the office earlier.”
She struggled to continue, but Bai Cha gave her a puzzled look, stood up, and stretched lazily like a cat. “He wants to join tonight’s welcome program, right? Matron approved it?”
“Yeah…”
Tang Ou remained seated on the steps, hugging her knees as she watched her friend’s graceful stretch reveal a sliver of pale waist dotted with faint bruises.
Suddenly, she felt it was unfair. Both were supposed to have their adoption eligibility revoked, so why could Lin Wangyang participate? Just because he was an Alpha?
“What else?” Bai Cha retorted, patting her dazed friend’s head reassuringly. “It’s fine. I don’t care about being adopted by those people anyway.”
“Why not?” Tang Ou blurted out, her face flushing as she looked up at Bai Cha’s delicate features half-squinting in the sunlight. She had the sense her friend was thinking of someone else.
Ever since returning last Wednesday, Bai Cha had been in noticeably better spirits—no longer the gloomy figure she once was. Tang Ou, who struggled with schoolwork, couldn’t quite describe it, but it was as if the dust shrouding her companion had been brushed away. Now, with her overgrown hair trimmed and her face fully visible, Bai Cha stood bathed in sunlight like a radiant, sparkling gem.
Tang Ou thought her friend was the prettiest of all the children in the orphanage.
“I get it! Did you also meet an adoptive parent you like? Are you waiting for her? Is she an Alpha? Or an Omega?”
Tang Ou thought she had guessed her little companion’s thoughts and happily jumped up from the steps, circling Bai Cha excitedly like a dizzy little bird.
Bai Cha grew dizzy from her spinning. Her original plan to find a secluded spot to nap was completely ruined, so she pressed a hand to Tang Ou’s forehead to explain—but what came out of her mouth was: “She’s a Beta.”
Bai Cha: “?”
She had clearly meant to say that the other party wouldn’t come to adopt her.
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